


Laugh Lines

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cats, Fluff, Growing Old Together, M/M, Old Age, Post-Canon, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:06:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: Truth is, Jesse didn’t think he’d make it this long. First there was Deadlock, then Blackwatch, then that stint as an outlaw, and back with Overwatch - none of those were low-risk jobs. There were enough close calls to make the probability of his survival past the age of 40 slim to none.But 40 has come and gone and somehow, some way, he's still here.---In which Jesse and Gabe finally get their chance to relax.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/gifts).



> Shout out to [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega) for kicking off this week with a sad headcanon spiral - which I only made worse. This is some balm for our hurt hearts. 
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://wictorwictor.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic).

Jesse leans in closer, peering at his reflection. He doesn’t remember there being this much grey in his facial hair. He tilts his head back, running his fingers through the scruff on his chin and cheeks. He notices a dusting of grey at his temples too. 

“Huh,” he says out loud. He finds that he doesn’t mind it. It sort of makes him look dignified. Jesse stands back, hands on his hips, taking the full effect of his reflection. Not bad. 

Truth is, Jesse didn’t think he’d make it this long. First there was Deadlock, then Blackwatch, then that stint as an outlaw, and back with Overwatch - none of those were low-risk jobs. There were enough close calls to make the probability of his survival past the age of 40 slim to none. 

But 40 has come and gone and somehow, some way, he's still here. 

Sure, he's missing a few parts, but beggars can’t be choosers. 

Jesse strolls out of the bathroom to go find Gabe. They had reappropriated an old Blackwatch safe house in Germany while Jesse worked on convincing Angela to take their case and had stayed there through the duration of the treatments. The house wasn’t exactly big or comfortable - and it was a lot colder in northern Germany than Jesse would prefer - but there was something familiar about it that made it feel almost like home. Still, it was only temporary. 

Jesse finds Gabe standing in the tiny kitchen, looking out the window with a cup of coffee clutched between both hands. It’s snowing outside, wrapping up the landscape in a thick, quiet blanket of white. Jesse taps his knuckles against the doorframe to announce his presence as he comes into the kitchen. It’s an old habit left over from when Gabe first got out of Talon and was more wary about being snuck up on. 

“Hey,” Jesse says. Gabe half-turns from the window to look at Jesse. He’s older too, now that Jesse’s paying attention. It used to just be the initial shock of Gabe being mostly dead - it took its toll on Gabe’s body, of course. But after everything Angela did for them… Gabe looks like he should. The color’s back in his face, the scars have healed over and faded, his hair’s a little longer and properly grey at the temples. There’s a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there for a long time. A smile lifts the corners of Gabe’s mouth. 

“It’s snowing again,” Gabe says, nodding to the window. Jesse comes to stand next to him.

“Is there any coffee left?” 

“Plenty,” Gabe nods to the pot. Jesse helps himself to a cup and then tucks himself into Gabe’s side. Gabe’s arm automatically comes up to wrap around Jesse’s waist, pulling him in close. His nose nudges against the short hair at Jesse’s temple. Jesse breathes out and lets his eyes slide closed. It's been years,  _ years _ to get to this point - quiet and comfortable and able to catch their breaths. After everything they've been through, they deserve the peace. 

They stand like that for a few moments, sipping their coffee and watching the snow fall. 

“You ever think…” Jesse starts to say. Gabe tilts his head to look at Jesse. 

“You still don't finish your sentences.”

Jesse ducks his head and chuckles. It's still surprising when Gabe remembers the finer details of their past. His memory is getting better - it's not all bad stuff and nightmares that he remembers now - and he's having more and more of these moments where it feels more like their Blackwatch days, albeit less of a scramble to survive. It’s encouraging; maybe they’ll get a chance to be normal, or something close to it. 

“I’m just thinking, since Angela gave us the all clear, maybe it was time to settle down. For real this time,” Jesse says. Gabe raises his eyebrows, face inscrutable as he sips his coffee. As frustrating as that is, Jesse missed that too. 

“Together?” Gabe asks after a moment. 

“Well - yeah,” Jesse says. “I mean, after everything - we got this far. It was always gonna be together if we got this far.”

Gabe sets down his coffee cup on the counter, slowly, deliberately. He turns to face Jesse and runs a hand along his cheek, thumb coming to rest just below Jesse’s ear. 

“You still want to?” Gabe asks, voice soft. Jesse leans into his hand. He’s starved for affection - always has been - and now that Gabe’s less scared about hurting him in a relapse or even by accident, Jesse’ll take everything he can get. 

“Yeah, Gabe. Of  _ course _ I do, you think I wouldn’t?”

“I just thought - after everything -”

“Now who's not finishing their sentences?” Jesse teases, his tone gentle. Gabe makes a face, cuffing his chin lightly. 

“I wasn't sure that was still on the table,” Gabe finishes. Jesse shakes his head a little, stepping in closer to look Gabe in the eye. He takes his other hand in his own and laces their fingers. 

“You died and you came back and somehow we've both survived everything that has gotten thrown at us,” Jesse says. “I ain't planning on letting you get away again. I dunno how much time I got left, but I wanna spend it all with you.”

Jesse sees Gabe’s Adam's apple bob as he swallows, a look coming into his eye that he can't quite place. A warmth spreads from the middle of his chest down to his fingers. 

“Yeah,” Gabe says, voice barely audible. “I want that too.”

=-=-=

They end up in the Southwest, of course. It's warm there, it's still relatively remote, and they get a house for cheap. It's a white adobe with a front  _ and _ back yard, bordered on all sides with cactuses that Jesse fills in with more succulents. There was a family of feral cats under the porch that Gabe feeds until they love him, wandering in and out the back door at will. The front room is sunny with plenty of room for Jesse’s growing book collection. There's a second bedroom for guests, but it’s really meant for Angela and Fareeha’s daughter whenever she’s had enough of her mothers. 

Some days are harder than others. Neither Jesse nor Gabe get over their nightmares and some nights are spent sleepless, trying to soothe each other back to sleep. Jesse still has the phantom pains in his missing arm that he's pretty sure will never go away and sometimes his cybernetic eye gives him migraines that make doing anything impossible. Gabe has his own aches and pains that can only be explained by his stint as a dead man, though he has a hard time describing it. He’d rather not talk about it and Jesse doesn’t press.

They don't complain, though; they have each other. 

Jesse reflects on this as he stands in the kitchen, hovering over a pot of beans on the stove. He glances through the doorway to the living room where Gabe has fallen asleep in an armchair by the window, one of the not-so-feral kittens in his lap. A ray of sun falls across his face. He looks peaceful. Happy. Jesse feels his heart swell, making his throat close with sudden emotion. He swipes at his eyes. 

“Look at me,” he says to one of the other cats that's circling between his feet. “Old man caught some feelings, huh?”

Jesse glances at the clock hanging near the fridge. The Amari-Zieglers would be here soon. He sets some water to boil and moves into the living room. He hates to disturb Gabe when he's finally got some sleep, but he'd be more upset if he didn't get to see his de facto granddaughter. Jesse leans down and gives Gabe a sweet, chaste peck. Gabe’s eyes move behind his closed lids for a moment before he opens them. He gives Jesse a warm, sleepy smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. 

“Hey,” he says. “Are they here?”

“Should be soon,” Jesse says. Gabe nods. He pets the kitten in his lap absently, trying to stretch without disturbing it too much. 

“Smells good,” Gabe says as the kitten hops down from his lap to stretch. Jesse smiles, pleased with himself. 

“You wanna set the table?”

“Sure,” Gabe says, kissing Jesse as he goes to retrieve the silverware. Jesse watches him for a moment, a dopey smile on his face. He’s happy too. 

Angela and Fareeha show up but Ebe runs in first. She squeezes Jesse around the middle and drags him down to whisper in his ear. 

“Can I stay with you guys tonight?” she asks. Jesse chuckles and squeezes her tight. 

“We’ll see about that one, darlin’.”

Angela drifts over to see Gabe - she’s always checking in on him these days. Jesse doesn’t think she has to worry, given how well everything has turned out for them. Angela was less sure of that, maybe, which was why she always hovered around Gabe when she visited. It had taken Jesse everything he had to convince Angela to help put them back together; it was experimental at best and a crime against humanity at worst, but it worked, in the end. Gabe was alive and had a little piece of Jesse with him for the rest of his days. 

For Jesse, it was worth it. 

“Did she ask you to stay over yet?” Fareeha asks, coming up to Jesse once Ebe darts over to Gabe. Jesse straightens. 

“Yeah, first thing,” Jesse says. 

“Angela and I wouldn’t mind the alone time,” Fareeha says. Jesse snorts and pulls her into a hug. 

“I guess we can work something out.”

The five of them crowd around the dinner table and catch up over good, simple food that Jesse cooked himself. They’re warm and laughing and happy, and Jesse finds himself getting a little misty eyed if he thinks too hard about it. 

At the end of the night, Angela and Fareeha say their goodbyes and Jesse promises to cook them breakfast in the morning if they come back to collect their daughter. 

“Very funny, Jesse,” Angela says as she hugs him good night. 

“I’ll make waffles,” Jesse promises. Fareeha gives him a hug too. 

“Don’t let her stay up too late.”

“Us? Never.”

Fareeha gives him a look, but she knows it carries no weight; Jesse had known her since she was a kid, he had practically been like her older brother - she knows what they got up to when nobody was paying attention. . 

Gabe gets a big, soft old t-shirt with a faded Blackwatch logo for Ebe to put on and he pulls her into his side on the sofa. 

“I know you’re too old for this, your mama used to say the same,” Gabe says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and picking up a tablet. “So maybe you get to read to me now, what do you think?”

“Maybe it’s okay if you read a little bit,” Ebe says, tucking her legs underneath her and cuddling closer into Gabe’s side. 

“Alright. You tell me if you start feeling too old for this, then.”

Jesse smiles to himself, listening to Gabe’s voice as he finishes cleaning up the kitchen and putting away the leftovers. He loves the sound of it. It’s gotten it’s old timbre back, less gravelly than it had been when he was with Talon; now, Gabe’s voice is deep and low and soothing and eventually Ebe falls asleep tucked under Gabe’s arm. Gabe keeps reading - mostly for Jesse’s benefit, he’s pretty sure - until Jesse switches off the kitchen lights and leans in the doorway to the living room. Gabe looks up, lifts a finger to his mouth. Jesse nods. 

“Want a hand?” Jesse asks quietly. Gabe sets the book aside carefully and nods. Jesse comes over and carefully, slowly scoops Ebe up into his arms. She shifts and whines but settles into his shoulder. Gabe stands, touches Ebe’s back. 

“‘M not tired,” Ebe mumbles. 

“Uh huh,” Jesse says, already moving back to the second bedroom, Gabe following in his wake. He slips ahead of them to turn down the blankets on the guest bed so Jesse can tuck Ebe in. Ebe makes a face; for a moment, she looks startlingly like Fareeha. Jesse kisses her forehead. “Good night, sweetheart.”

“Not tired,” Ebe tries again. Gabe pulls the sheets up and tucks her in. 

“Good try,” he says. Ebe cracks an eye open. 

“Just one song?” she asks. Gabe raises his eyebrows at Jesse, his mouth turned up at the corner. 

“Maybe just one.”

Jesse’s aware of Gabe’s eyes on his face as soon as he starts singing - an old, old song he remembers his mother singing to him a long time ago. He raises his eyes to look at Gabe across the bed as Ebe falls asleep between them. It’s a thing that Jesse didn’t do much at all when he was younger - it felt too private, left him feeling too vulnerable - but now, the smile on Gabe’s face means safety. The two of them sneak out as Jesse finishes the song. Ebe rolls over, but doesn’t wake. 

In the hallway, Gabe takes Jesse’s hand and squeezes it gently, tugs him in, presses a sweet, warm kiss to Jesse’s lips. They linger there for a moment, foreheads pressed together. 

“Bed?” Jesse asks finally. Gabe nods. 

They walk hand in hand to their own bedroom, where they have a big, soft bed with too many blankets. Jesse shimmies out of his clothes and tosses them in the hamper that has a familiar geometric pattern around the rim. He only uses it because Gabe chastises him otherwise. He pulls back the sheets to find a kitten tucked between them. 

“Which one is it?” Gabe asks, coming out of the bathroom with a toothbrush. 

“Clyde,” Jesse says. He nudges the kitten off the bed and onto the armchair in the corner. He’ll be back later. Jesse skirts around Gabe to get his own toothbrush and brush his teeth, watching himself in the mirror again. Lots of fine lines and grey hair. He doesn’t mind it too much. The lines around his eyes, he’s learned, are called laugh lines. Those are newer. Jesse cherishes those. Gabe comes up behind him and they both spit and rinse. “Ready?”

Gabe puts a hand on Jesse’s hip and kisses his temple. Jesse follows him to bed and they climb under the sheets. He immediately swarms into Gabe’s arms. It doesn’t matter that they’re old now, that Jesse isn’t the skinny young man that fell in love with his commanding officer, that Gabe’s died and come back since then - they’re together now, and happy. Content. Jesse presses his head over the spot on Gabe’s chest where he can hear his heartbeat best and lets the familiar, steady, soothing beat lull him to sleep. 


End file.
